Thinly sliced: Oregon becomes third and final West Coast state to adopt cage-free egg laws

Thinly sliced: Oregon becomes third and final West Coast state to adopt cage-free egg laws

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Egged on. All eggs farmed in Oregon will have to come from cage-free hens by 2024, The Oregonianreports. Oregon’s new law is identical to one passed in neighboring Washington this year, and adopts a lobbying group’s cage-free guidelines as the standard for egg production going forward. That means at least one square foot of space per hen and a semi-vague promise of room to roam. With Oregon on board, the West Coast becomes entirely cage-free.

Zima redux. Maybe it’s the viral tweets. Maybe it’s the veneer of health. Or maybe it’s just cheaper than a cocktail. Hard seltzer is hot, and White Claw, a savvily marketed brand from the people who brought you Mike’s Hard Lemonade, leads the way. The Guardian breathlessly reports on shortages and triple-figure sales increases.

Race to the bottom. Since immigration authorities raided chicken plants outside Jackson, Mississippi, many have wondered why it’s the workers who were punished, and not the people who hired them. The Washington Post reports they could be getting theirs, too. Federal agents believe the processors intentionally hired people who weren’t authorized to work in the U.S. by failing to use E-verify, an identity verification program that’s “sold as a silver-bullet fix to illegal immigration” and is mandatory in Mississippi. Others used the program but were taken in by fraudulent identity papers.

Meat market. You may have heard that Etsy is the unlikely new marketplace for rare fruit. But Facebook? Facebook is for meat. Mel Magazine reports on the platform’s “gray” meat market, in which carnivores PayPal one another for a chance at winning rarities like Spanish octopus and stone crabs. Rather than buy meats outright, the carnivores pay for a one in ten—sometimes one in a hundred—chance to be called. Reindeer roulette, anyone?

No ice, please. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has clarified that practicing Mormons cannot vape or drink green tea or Frappuccinos, the Washington Postreports. Referencing a prohibition on hot drinks and habit-forming substances in the Word of Wisdom, Church leaders issued a statement asserting that even iced tea and “drinks ending in ‘ccino” still count.